DOCSLIB.ORG

Freedom of Religion: the Contribution of Contemporary Iranian Reformist Scholars

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Freedom of Religion: the Contribution of Contemporary Iranian Reformist Scholars religions Article Freedom of Religion: The Contribution of Contemporary Iranian Reformist Scholars Ali Akbar Asia Institute, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia; [email protected] Abstract: This article examines a specific line of thinking shared by several contemporary reformist Iranian religious scholars who present arguments in favor of freedom of religion. Focusing on the ideas of five prominent reformist Iranian scholars—Abdolkarim Soroush (b.1945), Muhammad Mujtahed Shabestari (b.1936), Hasan Yousefi Eshkevari (b.1950), Mohsen Kadivar (b.1959), and Ahmad Qabel (d.2012)—the article argues that these thinkers’ defense of freedom of religion is based “ not only on their interpretations of the Qur an¯ and historical Islamic sources, but also philosophical arguments in which concepts from the fields of epistemology and hermeneutics are deployed. As the article demonstrates, some of these scholars connect the notion of freedom of religion to political arguments supporting religious tolerance, or the view that, in order to guarantee religious freedom, the state must be neutral towards the religious orientation of its citizens. Keywords: freedom of religion; Iranian reformist scholars; Soroush; Shabestari; Eshkevari; Kadivar; Qabel 1. Introduction This article explores the ideas of several Iranian reformist scholars and the methods Citation: Akbar, Ali. 2021. Freedom they use to argue in favor of religious freedom. The scholars whose ideas are discussed in of Religion: The Contribution of this article are Abdolkarim Soroush (b.1945), Muhammad Mujtahed Shabestari (b.1936), Contemporary Iranian Reformist Hasan Yousefi Eshkevari (b.1950), Mohsen Kadivar (b.1959), and Ahmad Qabel (d.2012). Scholars. Religions 12: 384. https:// All of these scholars except for Qabel are still living. While Soroush, Eshkevari, and Kadi- doi.org/10.3390/rel12060384 var live in exile, Shabestari lives in Iran. These scholars belong to a broader movement identified as “religious intellectualism” (rowshanfekri-e dini)—a trend of thinking that argues Academic Editor: Mojtaba Mahdavi for a more pluralistic reading of religious texts, opposes any attempt by the state to claim monopoly over religious truths, and favors the promotion of a civil and nonreligious state Received: 28 March 2021 (Jahanbakhsh 2004; Bayat 2013). The ideas of these scholars stand in sharp contrast to those Accepted: 20 May 2021 of traditionalist clergy and thinkers in Iran. The reformist scholars often adopt a contextual- Published: 26 May 2021 “ ist approach to interpreting the Qur an—an¯ approach that requires consideration of the text alongside the circumstances or conditions that existed at the time of the revelation of the “ Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral “ with regard to jurisdictional claims in Qur an.¯ For them, many Qur anic¯ teachings that concern social, political, and legal matters are context-specific, and cannot necessarily be implemented in all times and places includ- published maps and institutional affil- “ iations. ing the contemporary era (for their ideas about the Qur an¯ see Akbar and Saeed 2018, 2020; for this type of approach among Muslim scholars see Akbar 2019). By contrast, conser- “ vatives often argue for the immutability of many of the Qur an’s¯ teachings on socio-legal issues. As one conservative theologian and instructor at the howzah of Qom notes, “Not all “ changes lead to changes in the nature of Qur anic¯ commandments ... we cannot ignore the Copyright: © 2021 by the author. “ Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. injunctions of the Shari a based on external and contextual changes, and instead replace the unshakable commands of the Shari a“ with conjectures and guesses” (Kamrava 2008, p. 91). This article is an open access article “ distributed under the terms and Unlike reformist scholars, who often argue that the Qur an¯ should be interpreted in light conditions of the Creative Commons of the condition of the new age, conservatives maintain that reinterpretation of primary sources of religion is unnecessary, with some arguing against the notion of “multiple Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// “ creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ interpretations” of the Qur an¯ (see Ghamari-Tabrizi 2008, p. 217) and some rejecting the 4.0/). concept of a “pluralist reading of Islam” (see Bayat 2007, p. 113). Religions 2021, 12, 384. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12060384 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions Religions 2021, 12, 384 2 of 14 This article does not seek to examine the ideas of the aforementioned reformist schol- ars in detail but instead to explore some of the broader concerns that unite their work, specifically with respect to the question of freedom of religion. The article first explores the importance of the notion of freedom of religion in international laws and then provides a brief history of freedom of religion in Iran. The article then includes four main sections in which the thematic arguments presented by these scholars in their defense of freedom of religion are analyzed. Sections1 and2 concern their arguments supporting the right to change one’s religion; Section3 explores their understanding of freedom of religion from a philosophical and political perspective; and Section4 explains how the specific understanding of the notion of “faith” (iman¯ ) presented by some of these scholars—namely Soroush and Shabestari—has led them to argue in favor of freedom of religion. The notion of freedom of religion as discussed in this article includes three key elements: (1) the right of citizens, including lay intellectuals and clerics, to express their religious beliefs, including ideas that might seem to be unorthodox about religious texts, “ such as the Qur an¯ (I refer this as to “freedom of interpretation”); (2) the right of citizens to change their religions and convert to unbelief or another religion (“freedom of conversion”); and (3) the right of religious minorities to practice their religion freely and without coercion, as well as their rights to be treated similarly to the adherents of other religions, including those who comprise the majority of the population (“religious freedom for minorities”). For the purpose of this article, religious minorities are simply defined as any group of individuals whose religion is different from that of the majority population. It is useful to indicate from the outset that the scholars whose ideas are discussed in this article have often lamented Muslim thinkers’ failure to promote or discuss freedom of religion. For example, Mohsen Kadivar(2009a, p. 128) states, “Religious scholars have not paid sufficient attention to the issue of freedom of religion and belief, therefore failing to construct an analytical framework for its understanding and exploration”. Kadivar(2009a, p. 126) continues, “most available interpretations of Islam do not welcome the freedom of religion and belief”. Qabel(2013, p. 143) argued that most ulama¯ deny freedom of religion by a specific reading of the primary sources of Islam and demand the death penalty for apostasy. Eshkevari(2013) argues that emphasis on the freedom of religion is a way to promote peace, friendship, equality, and justice and to reduce hostility and discrimination. Therefore, the promotion of freedom of religion is necessary, though this is not promoted by the majority of fuqaha¯ today. 2. Freedom of Religion in an International Context The right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion is recognized in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance” (UN General Assembly 1948). This Article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights acknowledges the in- teraction between freedoms of religion or belief and other basic human rights such as freedom of thought and conscience. The right to freedom of religion was also recog- nized in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) adopted in 1966 (UN General Assembly 1966). Article 18(2) of the ICCPR stipulates, “No one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice”. Like the UDHR, the ICCPR in its Article 18(3) highlights the freedom to manifest one’s religion or beliefs. Articles 18(4) and 2 of the ICCPR ask state parties to respect the religious liberty of individuals within their territories. Article 18 of the UDHR influenced the emergence of the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief (Religion Declaration), which was adopted in November 1981 (UN Human Rights 1981). Article 4 of the 1981 Religion Declaration asks all states to “take all appropriate measures to Religions 2021, 12, 384 3 of 14 combat intolerance on the grounds of religion or other beliefs”. The Declaration condemns “intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief” (Article 2), stipulating that any form of discrimination “between human beings on the grounds of religion or belief” not only constitutes “an affront to human dignity”, but is also “a violation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights” and “an obstacle to friendly and peaceful relations between nations” (Article 3). While the 1981 Religion Declaration does not explicitly refer to religious minorities, Ar- ticle 27 of the ICCPR states: “In those States in which ethnic, religious, or linguistic minori- ties exist, persons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the right ... to enjoy their own culture, [and] to profess and practise their own religion” (UN General Assembly 1966). Various articles of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious, and Linguistic Minorities adopted on 18 December 1992 acknowledge the rights of religious minorities as well (UN Human Rights 1992).
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Selected Works of Chokan Valikhanov Selected Works of Chokan Valikhanov
    SELECTED WORKS OF CHOKAN VALIKHANOV CHOKAN OF WORKS SELECTED SELECTED WORKS OF CHOKAN VALIKHANOV Pioneering Ethnographer and Historian of the Great Steppe When Chokan Valikhanov died of tuberculosis in 1865, aged only 29, the Russian academician Nikolai Veselovsky described his short life as ‘a meteor flashing across the field of oriental studies’. Set against his remarkable output of official reports, articles and research into the history, culture and ethnology of Central Asia, and more important, his Kazakh people, it remains an entirely appropriate accolade. Born in 1835 into a wealthy and powerful Kazakh clan, he was one of the first ‘people of the steppe’ to receive a Russian education and military training. Soon after graduating from Siberian Cadet Corps at Omsk, he was taking part in reconnaissance missions deep into regions of Central Asia that had seldom been visited by outsiders. His famous mission to Kashgar in Chinese Turkestan, which began in June 1858 and lasted for more than a year, saw him in disguise as a Tashkent mer- chant, risking his life to gather vital information not just on current events, but also on the ethnic make-up, geography, flora and fauna of this unknown region. Journeys to Kuldzha, to Issyk-Kol and to other remote and unmapped places quickly established his reputation, even though he al- ways remained inorodets – an outsider to the Russian establishment. Nonetheless, he was elected to membership of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society and spent time in St Petersburg, where he was given a private audience by the Tsar. Wherever he went he made his mark, striking up strong and lasting friendships with the likes of the great Russian explorer and geographer Pyotr Petrovich Semyonov-Tian-Shansky and the writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
    [Show full text]
  • Guided Reading: Chapter 6 TIMELINE: Insert the Following Events Into a Timeline. This Should Help You Compare Important Histor
    Guided Reading: Chapter 6 TIMELINE: Insert the following events into a timeline. This should help you compare important historical events chronologically. Ridda wars begin end of Umayyad dynasty Muhammad escapes from Mecca to Medina assassination of Uthman battle of Siffin Muhammad receives first revelations 610 CE 750 CE TERMS, PEOPLE, EVENTS: The following terms, people and events are important to your understanding of the chapter. Islam Muslims Bedouin shaykhs Mecca Medina Quraysh Umayyad Ka’ba Allah Muhammad Quran hijra umma zakat five pillars hajj Ali Abu Bakr Ridda wars jihad Uthman Battle of Siffin Mu’awiya Sunnis Shi’a Karbala Damascus Mawali dhimmis Abbasid Abu al-Abbas Baghdad wazir ayan REVIEW QUESTIONS A. Describe the social organization of the Arabs prior to the introduction of Islam. B. Compare and contrast the status of women in Islam during the pre-Islamic period and the Abbasid Empire. C. Why was Islam able to appeal to people of so many different cultures? D. What was the essential dispute within Islam over the succession to the Prophet? E. What was the difference between the Abbasid Empire and the Umayyad Empire? F. What conditions influenced the rise of Islam in Arabia? G. Describe the development of the Muslim community and the teachings of Islam. H. What factors contributed to the rise and success of the Arabic Empire? I. How did Islam unite and effectively rule diverse peoples and cultures? J. How did Islam and the Arabic empire change during the Abbasid rule? K. Describe Islamic society including social classes, gender and inequalities. .
    [Show full text]
  • Reconciling Islam and Modernity the Role of Ayatollah Khomeini in Shaping Iranian Discourses on Islam and Democracy
    Reconciling Islam and Modernity The Role of Ayatollah Khomeini in Shaping Iranian Discourses on Islam and Democracy Adam Lewis Religion Senior Thesis Haverford College May 2010 Adviser: Supriya Gandhi Table of Contents Acknowledgements iv Abstract v Introduction 1 CHAPTER I Imagining a Role for Islam in the Public Sphere The Political Thought of Ayatollah Khomeini 5 CHAPTER II The Unexpected Underpinnings of a Theocratic Vision The Mystical Thought of Ayatollah Khomeini 28 CHAPTER III The Standard Bearers of a Progressive Islamic Project Iranian Discourses on Islam and Democracy 41 Conclusion The Increasingly Global Implications of Iranian Reform 65 Bibliography 67 Acknowledgements For my family who has given me unending educational opportunities and the unconditional support that has allowed me to take advantage of them to the fullest. For Lauren, for patiently listening to my “inspired” epiphanies about Ayatollah Khomeini and my desperate rants about the thesis I thought I would never finish. For the baseball team who has made sure I haven’t made it through a single day of the semester without having at least a little fun. And lastly, for the Haverford Professors who have challenged and inspired me over the past four years. I hope that this project serves as a testament to your labors as well as mine. iv Abstract This thesis attempts, through an analysis of Ayatollah Khomeini’s political thought, to show the way in which the widely accepted western caricature of the late Iranian leader as “backward” and “fundamentalist” masks the complexities of his political philosophy and of his legacy as a political and religious leader.
    [Show full text]
  • The Struggle Against Musaylima and the Conquest of Yamama
    THE STRUGGLE AGAINST MUSAYLIMA AND THE CONQUEST OF YAMAMA M. J. Kister The Hebrew University of Jerusalem The study of the life of Musaylima, the "false prophet," his relations with the Prophet Muhammad and his efforts to gain Muhammad's ap- proval for his prophetic mission are dealt with extensively in the Islamic sources. We find numerous reports about Musaylima in the Qur'anic commentaries, in the literature of hadith, in the books of adab and in the historiography of Islam. In these sources we find not only material about Musaylima's life and activities; we are also able to gain insight into the the Prophet's attitude toward Musaylima and into his tactics in the struggle against him. Furthermore, we can glean from this mate- rial information about Muhammad's efforts to spread Islam in territories adjacent to Medina and to establish Muslim communities in the eastern regions of the Arabian peninsula. It was the Prophet's policy to allow people from the various regions of the peninsula to enter Medina. Thus, the people of Yamama who were exposed to the speeches of Musaylima, could also become acquainted with the teachings of Muhammad and were given the opportunity to study the Qur'an. The missionary efforts of the Prophet and of his com- panions were often crowned with success: many inhabitants of Yamama embraced Islam, returned to their homeland and engaged in spreading Is- lam. Furthermore, the Prophet thoughtfully sent emissaries to the small Muslim communities in Yamama in order to teach the new believers the principles of Islam, to strengthen their ties with Medina and to collect the zakat.
    [Show full text]
  • A Study of the Cultural Grounds in Formation and Growth of Ethnic Challenges in Azerbaijan, Iran
    Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies Copyright 2018 2018, Vol. 5, No. 2, 64-76 ISSN: 2149-1291 A Study of the Cultural Grounds in Formation and Growth of Ethnic Challenges in Azerbaijan, Iran Mansour Salehi1, Bahram Navazeni2, Masoud Jafarinezhad3 This study has been conducted with the aim of finding the cultural bases of ethnic challenges in Azerbaijan and tried to provide the desired solutions for managing ethnic diversity in Iran and proper policy making in order to respect the components and the culture of the people towards increasing national solidarity. In this regard, this study investigates the cultural grounds of the formation and growth of ethnic challenges created and will be created after the Constitutional Revolution in Azerbaijan, Iran. Accordingly, the main question is that what is the most influential cultural ground in formation and growth of ethnic challenges in Azerbaijan? Research method was the in-depth interview, which was followed by an interview with 32 related experts, and after accessing all the results obtained, analysis of interview data and quotative analysis performed with in-depth interview. Findings of the research indicate that emphasis on the language of a country, cultural discrimination, and the non- implementation of Article 15 of the Constitution for the abandonment of Turkish speakers with 39% were the most important domestic cultural ground, and the impact of satellite channels in Turkey and Republic of Azerbaijan with 32% and superior Turkish identity in the vicinity of Azerbaijan with 31%, were the most important external grounds in formation and growth of ethnic challenges in Azerbaijan in Iran.
    [Show full text]
  • Can Iranian Women Compensate for Their Absence from the World of Fiqh?
    Can Iranian Women Compensate for Their Absence From the World of Fiqh? Minoo Mirshahvalad Abstract: It has been maintained that the violation of women’s human rights, in countries governed by Islamic law, derives from the lack of women’s contribution to the exegesis of the sacred texts. Therefore, the access of women to the realm of ijtihad in all likelihood should eliminate, or, at least, hinder these violations. To verify this assumption, I have taken the imposition of the veil in Iran as a touchstone to compare the roles of male and female mujtahids in this respect. The instance of the veil will help us understand whether and to what extent Iranian female mujtahids can and want to have a say in the elimination of what is considered to be a violation to women’s human rights. [Keywords: Shi’a tradition, mujtahid, veil, Iran, fiqh] Among Shi’as we have a wide range of different and contradictory narratives on women’s attire.1 Given this particularity of the second source of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), one needs long training in medieval Arabic, knowledge of chains of narrators and terminology to single out reliable reports. Even among the most cited accounts, only an expert can distinguish daif (weak) and morsala (unauthentic) from sahih (authentic) ones. Indeed, it was the second source of fiqh that brought into play the professionalism in the field of Islamic knowledge, when the Science of Hadith fell into the exclusive expertise of ulama. In Women’s Identity and Rethinking the Hadith, Barazangi maintains that various injustices to women, such as imposition of the veil, stemmed from the exclusion of women from the elaboration of the Science of Hadith.
    [Show full text]
  • Tribes and Empire on the Margins of Nineteenth-Century Iran
    publications on the near east publications on the near east Poetry’s Voice, Society’s Song: Ottoman Lyric The Transformation of Islamic Art during Poetry by Walter G. Andrews the Sunni Revival by Yasser Tabbaa The Remaking of Istanbul: Portrait of an Shiraz in the Age of Hafez: The Glory of Ottoman City in the Nineteenth Century a Medieval Persian City by John Limbert by Zeynep Çelik The Martyrs of Karbala: Shi‘i Symbols The Tragedy of Sohráb and Rostám from and Rituals in Modern Iran the Persian National Epic, the Shahname by Kamran Scot Aghaie of Abol-Qasem Ferdowsi, translated by Ottoman Lyric Poetry: An Anthology, Jerome W. Clinton Expanded Edition, edited and translated The Jews in Modern Egypt, 1914–1952 by Walter G. Andrews, Najaat Black, and by Gudrun Krämer Mehmet Kalpaklı Izmir and the Levantine World, 1550–1650 Party Building in the Modern Middle East: by Daniel Goffman The Origins of Competitive and Coercive Rule by Michele Penner Angrist Medieval Agriculture and Islamic Science: The Almanac of a Yemeni Sultan Everyday Life and Consumer Culture by Daniel Martin Varisco in Eighteenth-Century Damascus by James Grehan Rethinking Modernity and National Identity in Turkey, edited by Sibel Bozdog˘an and The City’s Pleasures: Istanbul in the Eigh- Res¸at Kasaba teenth Century by Shirine Hamadeh Slavery and Abolition in the Ottoman Middle Reading Orientalism: Said and the Unsaid East by Ehud R. Toledano by Daniel Martin Varisco Britons in the Ottoman Empire, 1642–1660 The Merchant Houses of Mocha: Trade by Daniel Goffman and Architecture in an Indian Ocean Port by Nancy Um Popular Preaching and Religious Authority in the Medieval Islamic Near East Tribes and Empire on the Margins of Nine- by Jonathan P.
    [Show full text]
  • Xvi. Yüzyil Anadolusu'nda Oğuz Boylarinin
    Ç.Ü. Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, Cilt 26, Sayı 3, 2017, Sayfa 45-59 XVI. YÜZYIL ANADOLUSU’NDA OĞUZ BOYLARININ YERLEŞTİKLERİ YERLERİN SANCAKLARA DAĞILIMI Mehibe ŞAHBAZ* ÖZ Coğrafi konumu itibarıyla Anadolu tarihin her safahatında pek çok milletin ilgisini çekmiş ve bu yüzden dolayı da sayısız istilalara sahne olmuştur. Değişik din ve kültürlerin etkisi altında kalmıştır. Ancak bu istila ve kültür değişiklerinden hiç biri XI. yüzyılda başlayan ve Anadolu’nun Türkleşmesi ve İslâmlaşması ile sonuçlanan Oğuz (Türkmen) istilası kadar derin izler bırakamamıştır. Türk’ler tarihte birçok kollara ayrılır, Bu kollardan birisi olan Oğuz (Türkmen) adıyla bilinen kitlenin göç etmesi ve Anadolu’ya yerleşmesi, Büyük Selçuklu İmparatorluğu’ndaki siyasî ve demografik gelişmeleriyle ilgilidir. Bu gelişmeleri daha iyi anlayabilmek için Oğuzların Anadolu’ya gelmeden önceki durumlarına ve Anadolu’ya doğru yönelmelerinin sebeplerine kısada olsa temas etmek gerekir. Göktürk ve Uygur devletlerinin önemli bir unsuru olan Oğuzların boy teşkilatları, Selçuklu ve Osmanlı döneminde hüküm sürdükleri yerlere kültürlerini, gelenek ve göreneklerinin yanı sıra ruhi davranışlarını da getirerek, yerleştikleri bölgelerde mensup oldukları boyun oymağının adıyla anılmaktadırlar. Çalışmamızda Oğuzların Anadolu’ya nereden ve ne sebeple göç ettiğini ele almanın ötesinde başta Anadolu olmak üzere Oğuzların değişik coğrafyaları yurt edinmeleri üzerinde durulmuştur. X. asırdan XVI. asır’a kadar Anadolu’da yaşayan Oğuz boylarına mensup oymakların adlarının sancaklara dağılımını ulaşabildiğimiz kaynakların ışığı altında tespit etmeye çalıştık. Anahtar kelimeler: Oğuz, Türkmen, Boy, Yerleşim, Anadolu 16th CENTURY ANATOLIA OGHUZ TRIBES SETTLED TO STARBOARD OF THE PLACES DISTRIBUTION ABSTRACT Due to its geographical location, Anatolia has attracted many nations at every pace of history, and due to this, countless invasions have been the scene.
    [Show full text]
  • Political Succession in the Islamic Republic of Iran: the Rise of the Revolutionary Guards
    Political Succession in the Islamic Republic of Iran: The Rise of the Revolutionary Guards Ali Alfoneh Political Succession in the Islamic Republic of Iran: The Rise of the Revolutionary Guards Ali Alfoneh February 5, 2018 Issue Paper #1 2019 The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington (AGSIW), launched in 2015, is an independent, nonprofit institution dedicated to providing expert research and analysis of the social, economic, and political dimensions of the Gulf Arab states and how they impact domestic and foreign policy. AGSIW focuses on issues ranging from politics and security to economics, trade, and business; from social dynamics to civil society and culture. Through programs, publications, and scholarly exchanges the institute seeks to encourage thoughtful debate and inform the U.S. policy community regarding this critical geostrategic region. © 2019 Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. All rights reserved. AGSIW does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of AGSIW, its staff, or its board of directors. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission in writing from AGSIW. Please direct inquiries to: [email protected] This publication can be downloaded at no cost at www.agsiw.org. Cover Photo Credits: Khamenei.ir/Wikimedia Commons About the Author Ali Alfoneh is a senior fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. He is the author of Iran Unveiled: How the Revolutionary Guards are Transforming Iran from Theocracy into Military Dictatorship, published by AEI Press in April 2013.
    [Show full text]
  • Reading Comprehension Skills of Bilingual Children in Turkey
    European Journal of Education Studies ISSN: 2501 - 1111 ISSN-L: 2501 - 1111 Available on-line at: www.oapub.org/edu doi: 10.5281/zenodo.572344 Volume 3 │ Issue 6 │ 2017 READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS OF BILINGUAL CHILDREN IN TURKEY Seher Bayati University of Ordu, Turkey Abstract: This study aims to compare the reading comprehension skills of the bilingual students studying at the 4th Grade of the Primary School with the monolingual students studying at the 4th Grade. With this purpose, 303 students were included from the Black Sea Region, where mainly monolingual students studied and 247 students were included from the Eastern and South-eastern Regions, where bilingual students studied. Furthermore, in order to expand the scope of the research, it was intended to find out the views of class teachers about the reading comprehension skills of bilingual students. So in the research, the mixed method and the parallel pattern converging from the patterns of the mixed method were used. The research result presented a significant difference between the reading comprehension skills of the monolingual 4th grade students from the Black Sea Region and the students from the Eastern and South- eastern Regions. This difference was in favour of the monolingual students. On the other hand, reading comprehension skills of the 4th graders in the Eastern and South- eastern Regions did not significantly differ within itself depending on bilingualism. Keywords: bilingual children, native language, reading comprehension, Turkish, Kurdish, Arabic 1. Introduction The official language and medium of instruction is Turkish in Turkey. According to Article 42 of the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey, “No language other than Turkish shall be taught as a mother tongue to Turkish citizens at any institutions of training or education.
    [Show full text]
  • Arabian Peninsula from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia Jump to Navigationjump to Search "Arabia" and "Arabian" Redirect Here
    Arabian Peninsula From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigationJump to search "Arabia" and "Arabian" redirect here. For other uses, see Arabia (disambiguation) and Arabian (disambiguation). Arabian Peninsula Area 3.2 million km2 (1.25 million mi²) Population 77,983,936 Demonym Arabian Countries Saudi Arabia Yemen Oman United Arab Emirates Kuwait Qatar Bahrain -shibhu l-jazīrati l ِش ْبهُ ا ْل َج ِزي َرةِ ا ْلعَ َربِيَّة :The Arabian Peninsula, or simply Arabia[1] (/əˈreɪbiə/; Arabic jazīratu l-ʿarab, 'Island of the Arabs'),[2] is َج ِزي َرةُ ا ْلعَ َرب ʿarabiyyah, 'Arabian peninsula' or a peninsula of Western Asia situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian plate. From a geographical perspective, it is considered a subcontinent of Asia.[3] It is the largest peninsula in the world, at 3,237,500 km2 (1,250,000 sq mi).[4][5][6][7][8] The peninsula consists of the countries Yemen, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.[9] The peninsula formed as a result of the rifting of the Red Sea between 56 and 23 million years ago, and is bordered by the Red Sea to the west and southwest, the Persian Gulf to the northeast, the Levant to the north and the Indian Ocean to the southeast. The peninsula plays a critical geopolitical role in the Arab world due to its vast reserves of oil and natural gas. The most populous cities on the Arabian Peninsula are Riyadh, Dubai, Jeddah, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Kuwait City, Sanaʽa, and Mecca. Before the modern era, it was divided into four distinct regions: Red Sea Coast (Tihamah), Central Plateau (Al-Yamama), Indian Ocean Coast (Hadhramaut) and Persian Gulf Coast (Al-Bahrain).
    [Show full text]
  • Iran: Suppression of Religious Freedom and Persecution of Religious Minorities
    IJRF Vol 2:1 2009 (111-130) 111 Iran: Suppression of religious freedom and persecution of religious minorities Thomas Schirrmacher* Abstract The article explores the situation of non-Shiite Muslims, non-Christian religions like Baha'i, and the different Christian confessions in Iran. It particularly examines their legal situation, asks for the ideological position of the Iranian leadership concerning other religions and then describes the actual problems, as the government rarely uses legal means against other religions, but uses allegations of espionage against them. Keywords Iran, Shia, Sunni, Baha’i, Protestants, Evangelicals. 1. The Iranian revolution Shah Reza Pahlavi maintained progressive economic policies while relying heavily on the West. Unpopular because of his use of repressive measures and his secret service, he was subsequently deposed of by the Shiite Islamic revolution. In 1979 the Islamic Republic was proclaimed. Ever since the Islamic clergy, as guardians of the revolution, maintain authority over the politicians, who, while mostly democratically elected, are hand-picked by the religious guardians. Consequently, in spite of its democratic structures, Iran remains a theocratic police state which ignores human rights, in particular those of minorities, non-Muslims and women. Year after year, the classical reference works which categorize countries according to their religious freedom1 and the persecution of * Prof Dr phil Dr theol Thomas Schirrmacher (*1960) is the Principal of the Martin Bucer Seminary (Bonn, Zürich, Innsbruck, Prague, Ankara); professor of sociology of religion at the State University of Oradea, Romania; director of the International Institute for Religious Freedom of the World Evangelical Alliance and Speaker for Human Rights of this worldwide network.
    [Show full text]